Foreign Direct Investment Will Grow for Next 3 Years

By Reuters

June 24, 2014

Global foreign direct investment will rise 12.5 percent to $1.62 trillion this year as the economic recovery tempts China, private equity and big companies, according to the United Nations’ annual World Investment Report, published by the organization’s economic think tank UNCTAD. It forecast sustained growth in coming years for such investment, reaching $1.75 trillion in 2015 and $1.85 trillion in 2016. Global flows touched $2 trillion in 2007 but slumped to $1.2 trillion in 2009 and have struggled to regain momentum. But in the first four months of 2014, global M&A was worth about $500 billion, the highest since 2007 and double the value in the same months of 2013. This year’s 10 largest deals all targeted developed countries, signaling a return to the “traditional pattern,” the report said. The biggest recipient of such investment remains the United States, with $188 billion in 2013 — 50 percent above that of the second biggest recipient, China.